Renal Lifecycle symposium

On Friday, April 5, 2024, the Renal Lifecycle symposium took place in Utrecht, the Netherlands. The symposium covered the state of the art in cardio- and renoprotective medicine in patients with severe kidney disease and the Renal Lifecycle trial sponsored by the Nierstichting. About 80 enthusiastic professionals shared presentations and findings.

The day started with an interactive program around the implementation of the study. Practical information on logistics and tips and tricks were shared with and by research staff from various hospitals around the country. Each center has its own challenges and it was a great time to ask questions and brainstorm solutions.

The afternoon program was medically oriented. Among other things, it was about severe kidney failure patients and how we can combine various treatments as optimally as possible for them in the future. About dialysis patients and what would be the best possible treatment for them to prevent heart problems. About transplant patients and what we can do for them to prevent deterioration of kidney function.

There was also an update on the status of the Renal Lifecycle study. How many participants are there now, how is the progress, where are we working towards, what are the initial findings.

From the Nierstichting there was an information about the Coast-to-coast challenge, a 500km bike ride from Zoutkamp in Groningen to Zoutelande in Zeeland to raise money for the Nierstichting.

The patient association was also present with a delegation. All in all, an informative and inspiring day for everyone.

The whole day was recorded on video so that it can also be watched back for people who could not attend. Below is an overview of the different sessions with links to the relevant youtube page. Below the video in question you can use the timestamps to look up a specific presentation.

Morning session

  • Renal Lifecycle trial: sharing practical experiences with inclusion and follow-up. Radboudumc: dr. Rob van Kruijsdijk (steering committee member and regional coordinator), UMC Groningen: drs. Wisanne Bakker (study physician), drs. Heleen Nijmeijer (study coordinator), Yvonne Adema (study nurse) and Amsterdam UMC drs. Micky Karsten (study physician, coordinator STOP HF in PD sub-study)


Afternoon session before the break

  • The Renal Lifecycle trial: rationale, protocol aspects and initial results. Speaker: Prof. Ron Gansevoort (UMC Groningen)
  • CKD: how to optimally combine all current renoprotective treatments? Speaker: Prof. Christoph Wanner (UK Würzburg)
  • CKD: future renoprotective treatment. Is further optimization possible? Speaker: Prof. Hiddo Lambers Heerspink (UMC Groningen)


Afternoon session after the break

  • Dialysis: what is the optimal treatment to prevent cardiovascular events? Speaker: Dr. Alferso Abrahams (UMC Utrecht)
  • Transplantation: what is the optimal treatment to prevent kidney function decline? Speaker: Dr. Aiko de Vries (Leiden UMC)
  • In conclusion, there is more than heart and kidney function. Malignancies after kidney transplantation and the place of immunotherapy. Speaker: Dr. Hilde Jalving, oncologist (UMC Groningen)